Microsoft Kinect

Microsoft may have hit on a mixed jackpot with the Kinect. While Xbox gamers might consider it a very optional, sometimes even unwanted, accessory, makers and tinkerers have flocked to it for how it made 3D scanning technology available the masses at an affordable price. However, it requires to be connected either to an Xbox or to a PC in order to function, which puts hard limits on its portability. But throw in a Raspberry Pi 2 into the mix, one of the most portable computers around, and you're good to go. Literally.

Microsoft seems to be developing a habit of announcing big features related to Windows 10 but neglecting to mention the critical fine print that would impact if you're even eligible to get the feature. That has happened, and is still happening, with details about upgrades to Windows 10 and now it's also happening here with Windows 10 for the Xbox One. In particular, one of the nicer features to descend on the console. In order to use that smart assistant, you'll need to have an Xbox One Kinect.

Microsoft may have just wowed your imagination when it revealed more details about its HoloLens virtual augmented reality headset at BUILD 2015 last week, but there's one virtual dream you can already make reality right here, right now. Microsoft has just unleashed the RoomAlive toolkit on GitHub, allowing anyone and everyone, with the proper tools and propensity for programming of course, to create their own interactive rooms complete with projection mapping and motion sensing. Aside from so me programming chops, all you need are some Kinects and some projectors. Yes, plural.

This news should probably come as a surprise to no one after Microsoft unveiled the Kinect Adapter for Windows last October. In a nutshell, this has made the Kinect for Windows somewhat redundant. So today, Microsoft is officially killing off the product. Of course, it's saying that it's "consolidating" its Kinect portfolio. The tech company will no longer be making the Windows-compatible Kinect, leaving remaining stocks to dwindle. That said, in the end, it should be business as usual for everyone, as they can continue using the Xbox One's Kinect instead.

Current Kinect hardware is being phased out as Microsoft rolls in something better. Via their Kinect blog, Microsoft is announcing they’ve decided to phase out the legacy Kinect version one in order to focus on Kinect version two. Microsoft's Kinect version two shipped in October along with an SDK, which signaled the end of the existing Kinect hardware anyway. No solid drop-dead date was given for the original Kinect, suggesting Microsoft will just be phasing it out as they sell off existing stock.

The newest way Microsoft is making Kinect more accessible to the masses is with a device called the Kinect Adapter for Windows. This device allows the Xbox One Kinect to work with your Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 device with a simple USB plug. You’ll need USB 3.0 - which your computer almost certainly has - but besides that it’s just a simple slot. Need a use for that camera that came with your Xbox One? Surprise! Now you have one!

Earlier this year Microsoft revealed their response to the $100-cheaper PlayStation 4 in the form of an Xbox One without the Kinect. Previous to this reveal of the $399 Kinect-less Xbox One, there’d only been the Xbox One with Kinect, now called a "bundle", that was $499. Microsoft reported in July that their June Xbox One console sales had "more than doubled" due to the new standard sans-Kinect release. Fast-forward to October of 2014 - right now, that is - and that Kinect "bundle" might be on its way out the door completely.

While some, like Oculus and now Samsung, want to immerse you in virtual worlds by constraining your eyes to a single point and faking the world, others are taking immersion from the other end. RoomAlive can turn any regular room into a completely interactive environment for games and other content, using only off the shelf components and some specialized software.

Don't want to buy an Xbox One but want to use the second generation Kinect for your Windows PC? Look no further and wait no longer. Microsoft has just updated their pre-order page for Kinect for Windows v2, showing that the highly popular sensor will be heading out to buyers starting July 15

If you have a game that’s so extremely important to the future of your developer group that it’ll make or break said group, you might be Rare. This week it’s being suggested that in light of the less-than-stellar sales of Kinect Sports Rivals, its developers are having to change their game plan.